Gloria Pitzer's Hooters-Style Buffalo Wings

Gloria Pitzer is known for copying famous foods. "I take the junk out of junk food," says Pitzer. "You know what goes into my recipes." Gloria is careful to point out that she doesn't actually know what the big chains put in their food. "I don't try to dissect the foods and figure out the chemical ingredients," she says. "I never, ever try to steal anyone's secret corporate recipe. I just do my best to duplicate the taste." The preparation time includes refrigeration. Enjoy!

• Ready In: 2 hrs
• Serves: 4
• Yields: 20 wing segments

Ingredients

• 1  cup all-purpose flour
• 1  teaspoon salt
• 1⁄2 teaspoon paprika
• 1⁄2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1⁄2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1⁄4 teaspoon black pepper
• 10  chicken wings, cut each into drumettes and wingettes (equals 20 segments)
• 1⁄2 cup butter
• 1⁄4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1  teaspoon Tabasco sauce
• 3⁄4 cup  hot sauce (Frank's Red Hot Buffalo Wing Sauce or Rizzotti's Gourmet Wing Sauce)

Directions

1. In a shallow dish, combine flour, salt, paprika, garlic powder, and peppers. Coat chicken entirely in the flour mixture; refrigerate coated wings for 1 hour; coat chicken again with remaining flour mixture.
2. In a 2-quart saucepan, heat butter and hot sauce just until butter melts; turn heat to low and keep warm on stove top.
3. Deep-fry chicken, 8 - 10 pieces at a time, in 375º vegetable oil for 13 minutes, turning once or twice. Drain chicken on a wire cooling rack for 30 seconds, then immediately toss fried chicken in buffalo sauce mixture and remove with a slotted spoon.
4. Repeat with remaining chicken.